Cream Ale, Don't You Stop
A lineup of Cream Ales from New York State. This includes Genesee Cream Ale, Newburgh Cream Ale, Prison City Cream Ale, La Cream from Aurora Brewing, and a charitable collaboration from Threes Brewing, Finback Brewing, Strong Rope Brewery and Wild East Brewing.
It seems that Cream Ale may survive the pastry-fication era of beer a little rattled, but intact. Maybe more than any other style, it was ripe for complete bastardization as some American brewers in recent years pushed styles to the extreme. However, on a recent trip to the beer store, I saw way more examples of “traditional” Cream Ale than those with adjuncts like marshmallow or guava. And the fact that numerous examples were readily available says something about its relevance (this availability may have a geographical skew here in New York, which has, IMHO, always been the most important state in the history of Cream Ale.)
Like every other style, Cream Ale has evolved. The story most often told of the beer’s origins is that American ale brewers made Cream Ale in the 1800s to compete with the pale lagers that were exploding in popularity at the time. This was done by brewing a very pale, golden ale with a grist bill that included up to or around 30 percent corn or rice and fermented at cooler temperatures like a lager. It’s kinda like the Cold IPA of the 1800s. The truth is that there already was a beer called Cream Ale in the United States before Pilsner Urquell released its highly influential beer in 1842.
John Taylor's Sons' Albany Imperial Cream Ale by John Taylor's Sons' Brewery - 1865. Image source: Biblio.
One of the earliest records of Cream Ale comes from Albany, New York. However, the big headline from the early accounts does not paint a pretty picture of the beer.
Albany’s John Taylor Brewery (the name changed over the years) was called out by Temperance Movement zealot Edward C. Delavan in the 1830s for brewing with a water source that was contaminated by nearby industries, cemeteries, and animals (live and dead). Seeking to defend his business, Taylor filed a libel suit against Delavan. However, it seemed clear that there was some truth to Delavan’s claims, and the court sided with him.
Delavan and his allies used this for their propaganda, notably in the publication called the Cold Water Army Dialogues, published in 1842. In it, there’s a fictional story where a character expresses surprise as he sees someone order an Albany Cream Ale since he thought the person was a member of the Temperance Society. In response, the Cream Ale drinker says, “I am none of your tetotalers…”
The teetotaler proceeds to tell the drinker the story of the Taylor brewery and the trial. (As a side note, in the exchange, one of the characters notes, “I asked why they call it cream ale, and they said it was because it looked yellow, like cream.”) Swayed by the description of the brewery’s practices, the drinker concedes, “…let me see the trial. If it is as you say, I will drink no more cream ale.”
Cream Ale got caught up in Temperence Movement controversy again several decades later in the early 1900s with Laevison’s Original Cream Ale Special Brew, aka “The Great Temperance Beer”, from Paducah, Kentucky. In 1911, The Journal of the American Medical Association discussed Laevison’s Cream Ale, noting it was advertised as a Temperance drink, but samples found it to contain four percent alcohol. It stated (with a confusing use of the term “Cream Ale” seemingly implying a nonalcoholic beverage), “in the case of the “Cream Ale” it was declared to be not only misbranded but adulterated in that fermented beer had been substituted in part for the “cream ale.”
Despite these sporadic sidesteps, Cream Ale persevered. It re-emerged after Prohibition, but as Jeff Alworth notes in The Beer Bible, it came back a “lesser beer”. In particular, he notes it lost its strength and bitterness.
— —
As implied above, Cream Ale was not and is not monolithic. Stan Hieronymus has pointed out a notable example in his book, Brewing Local, with the case of Kentucky Common. This beer is essentially a darker version of Cream Ale that was made beginning in the 1880s. The American Handy Book of The Brewing, Malting And Auxiliary Trades by Max Henius and Robert Wahl notes the darker color in Kentucky Common may come from sugar, caramel and/or roasted malt. It also mentions the addition of corn, but doesn’t mention rice for this particular sub-style.
There are also other types of beer referred to as Cream Ale in a few different beer cultures. Irish Cream Ale typically means an Irish Red Ale that uses nitrogen to create creamy foam. Similarly, Mirella Amato has pointed out in her book Beerology the various Cream Ales found in Quebec, Canada, which she connects to McAuslan Cream Ale. This beer is a nitrogenated Pale Ale. Mirella also identifies a different Canadian Cream Ale from British Columbia originating at Russell Brewing that she describes as a “reddish-brown beer resembling a dark, English mild.”
Confusingly, there was also an Irish Cream Ale in the United States called Beverwyck Irish Brand Cream Ale from Albany, New York. It’s unclear why it had a reference to Ireland, but there’s no reason to believe it was notably different in style than the other Cream Ales being made in the US in the second half of the 1800s. According to the book Upper Hudson Valley Beer, Schaefer purchased the brewery in 1950 and discontinued the Irish Brand Cream Ale, but customers weren’t having it. So, the brewery brought the beer back under the Schaefer name.
Many contemporary brewers have honored the overall concept of Cream Ale, with some putting minor tweaks on it here and there. They seem to shine best when they’re closer to the description of the pre-prohibition versions with more character and bitterness than those that followed prohibition. In a surprise to no one, others have used the term “cream” to take incredible liberties with the style, but as Josh Bernstein says in his book The Complete Beer Course, “there’s something to be said for the simple pleasures of an unadulterated cream ale.”
Looking forward though, as a newer generation of brewers matures, subtlety is becoming popular again. As is, a standard Cream Ale can hit the spot, but there are a few opportunities to tinker with the beer that could be cool. And its dual identity as ale and lager offers some good possibilities. Just spitballing here.
One immediate opportunity is to overcome the challenges the use of rice and corn pose with the creation of foam and head retention. These two adjuncts are lacking in the proteins that help create dense, lasting suds. So, tinkering with the grain bill can help create a Cream Ale that still presents the attributes we want from the beer, but bolsters the foam as well. This could be done by cutting back a little bit on the additions of corn or rice. Also, a small addition of Carafoam can help.
With those modifications, Cream Ale could work well from a Lukr faucet, or maybe as real ale from a handpump. And taking cues from Ireland and Canada, even nitro could work. Yeah, cream ale is not supposed to taste like cream (hold the lactose, please), but creamy foam is a-ok.
“Wafer”, a Cream Ale collaboration between Brookyln’s Strong Rope Brewery and Miles, The Prince in White Plains, New York. The beer spent a brief amout of time in a foeder.
Since Cream Ale mimics American lager, why not put it in pitch-lined vessels like American lager was back in the day? (I say this recongnizing there’s less than a handful of brewers prepared to do this right now.) Or, since it’s an ale, maybe a little (just a little) barrel character isn’t out of line. Brooklyn-based Strong Rope Brewery and Miles the Prince in nearby White Plains, New York recently teamed up for a Cream Ale, called “Wafer”, that spent some time in a foeder. The result is fantastic. It’s a beer that’s true to the essence of Cream Ale, but for those paying attention, there’s a little something extra there that is complementary to the style and sets the beer apart from others.
It would also be great if more brewers were making Kentucky Common-type Cream Ales, or even darker brews. Either way, American Adjunct Ales through the spectrum of pale to dark would be great to see, making use of a variety of malts that are out there, particularly from smaller, regional malt houses. Likewise, indigenous/local hops are a great way to add character to the beer when possible. That said, Willamette, Fuggle, Cluster, Northern Brewer, Tettnanger, Styrian Golding, and Hallertau are all good hops for Cream Ale. Broadly speaking for both malt and hops, varieties that work well with ale and lager and don’t have intense characterstics work well.
Corn products seem to be the default adjunct for Cream Ale as it is with Mexican Lager and other American Adjunct Lagers. That’s fine, but some more releases with rice would be cool to see.
Finally, maybe it’s time to give those Temperance folks the Cream Ale they wanted. Now is great time to make NA Cream Ale.